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Medieval foods:

SPICED BEEF

Recipe from the Medieval Pavilion Resources-Favorite Foods page of the Society of Creative Anachronisms.

Translation/interpretation by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn

One of my favorites is a spiced, sweet-and-sour braised beef from the 6th century cookbook of Anthimus (a Byzantine, exiled to the court of the Ostrogoths). It's unusual for early recipes in that it specifies quantities and describes cooking methods in considerable detail. In translation (from the original Latin) it reads:


"Boil [beef] in as much fresh water as suits the size of the portion of meat; you should not have to add any more water during the boiling. When the meat is cooked, put in a casserole about half a cup of sharp vinegar, some leeks and a little pennyroyal, some celery and fennel, and let those simmer for one hour. Then add half the quantity of honey to vinegar, or as much honey as you wish for sweetness. Cook over a low heat, shaking the pot frequently with one's hands so that the sauce coats the meat sufficiently. Then grind the following: [here is my only major departure from the original text -- it calls for 50 peppercorns and I have adjusted this to 1, since 50 would drown out every other flavor in the dish!] 1 peppercorn, 2 grams [this is converted from the recipe's "quantum medietatem solidi" -- needless to say, they hadn't invented grams in the 6th century!] each of costmary and spikenard, and 1.5 grams [similarly] of cloves. Carefully grind all these spices together in an earthenware mortar with the addition of a little wine. When well ground, add them to the casserole and stir well, so that before they are taken from the heat, they may warm up and release their flavor into the sauce. ...

Do not use a bronze pan, because the sauce tastes better cooked in an earthenware casserole."


The only specifics I've worked out that aren't mentioned in the recipes are the amounts of leeks, pennyroyal, celery root and fennel -- I use about a quarter cup chopped each of leek, celery root and fennel, and about a tablespoon of fresh pennyroyal.
(I must confess, though, that I have yet to lay my hands on spikenard, so I haven't managed a complete reconstruction of the dish.)

Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn

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GLOSSARY

I have had requests for definitions of some of the words I use in the text. The identification behind each word in parentheses indicates either the word is derived from a similar word in an older language, or that the word is used today in that language. Also, there are some words in the book that I just plain made up out of my head- (identified as "mine.") If you want to know about a certain word, please email me at clovenstone@aol.com, or look it up in your dictionary.

lifebreath: (mine) the medium through which hlsynaners communicate, the atmosphere

lime: (Anglo-Saxon) (calcium carbonate) used in tanning and in plaster and mortar

linden: (European) tree with heart-shaped leaves, small white flowers, (lime tree, basswood)

linn: (Anglo-Saxon) waterfall or pool beneath a fall, cataract, water running over rocks

linnet: (Old French) small brown or gray songbird that eats flax seeds Also called furze-linnet

looking glass: (my coined) telescope

mage: (Latin) magician, wizard (adj) magian

mast: (Anglo-Saxon) nuts as food for pigs, esp acorns and beechnuts

mead: (Anglo-Saxon) a fermented drink made of honey, usually considered a kind of wine

mead-hall: (Anglo-Saxon) guild halls/ lodgings of professional warriors

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Literary Notes

TRIADIC SAYINGS

"Throughout the Celtic world, the wealth of the oral tradition was maintained by triadic sayings which were memorized by bards and poets to be uttered at appropriate moments. Often these triads encapsulated complex stores, but often, as with the one that follows, the triads spoke of the common wisdom of life."
from The Celtic Book of Days by Caitlin Matthews

An example of a triad, or a saying in three, was this common one about things that herald trouble.

1. holding plough-land in common
2. performing feats together
3. alliance in marriage

Using the fact that saying/reciting oral history was often done in threes, I put a three-line poem, or triadic saying, at the beginning of each chapter. This triad imitates the song of a bard or poet who is reciting the epic tale of Clovenstone at some time following the events of the book. Usually tales, news, and histories were recited in a rhythmic manner, thought they did not often rhyme. Thus the three-line poems, or triads, do not necessarily rhyme, but if you say them out loud, they have rhythm. Try a couple. They are meant to be said out loud. You'll get much more out of them by saying them out loud than just reading them.

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HERBS

In my discussions of herbs in all the issues of Kildonan Times, I present only general information. It is not intended to be a guide for the use of the herbs. If you wish to use any of the herbs described in Kildonan Times, consult an herbalist or a definitive guide book to using herbs.

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radish: We wouldn't ordinarily think of a radish as an herb. However, radishes have long been used for a variety of medicinal uses, as well as for food. Radishes of all colors and shapes grew wild and plentiful in Britain and Europe, and so were seldom cultivated in the Middle Ages.

For medicinal purposes, the juice was/is most commonly used. Mixed one to one with honey, it was taken for coughs, bronchitis and other respiratory disorders. It was a common household medicine in old Europe.

The other use through the ages for radish juice was as a treatment for gall stones. A typical three week "cure" for gallstones with radish juice follows:

1. Begin with about a half cup of radish juice every day.
2. Gradually increase the amount to two or more cups a day, depending on results.
3. Gradually decrease the amount of juice back to a half cup after one to three weeks, and keep taking the half cup until the cure is effected.

I'm not sure how one knows when a cure has been effected, but I guess I wouldn't even start this regimen unless I had a couple of bushels of radishes handy.

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primrose: The primrose blooms early and is a herald of spring. The name comes from the Latin for prime (first) rose.

Primroses were often included in love potions and in charms against evil. It was said that if a child ate the flowers, he/she could see fairies. Thirteen primroses brought luck into a house, but a single primrose brought into the house was bad luck.

Their primary medicinal use was for headaches, including migraines. Teas made from the leaves and flowers, made fresh each time, one cup a day, was the dosage.

The root was mashed and strained, and the resulting liquid used by the drop or teaspoon for various medicinal uses such as blood purifying, rheumatism, and gout.

As a food, primrose flowers were crystallized in sugar for candy and decoration. The flowers were made into jam and wine. The flowers and leaves were put into salads, and the leaves were cooked as a green vegetable.

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My basic herb reference books for the herbs I use either for food or medicine in Clovenstone and Stones Seven are: The Herb Book by John Lust (Bantam Books), Brother Cadfael's Herb Garden by Robin Whitman (Bullfinch Press) and Herbs by Lesley Bremness (DK Publishing).

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A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR (me, Ruth)

I planted geraniums today, lots of geraniums, all red. Next I'll go buy some pink geraniums and some purple pansies, and plant them. We had the coldest winter in many a year here in central Florida, and plants that usually bloom all winter ended up very dead instead. Even warm weather of early summer was late this year. As a rule, February is considered the end of winter here, but we had a frost in the first part of March, even. People are just now feeling comfortable with planting new stock. Nursery owners must be elated. Not only is there the usual planting of new annuals for summer, but people are having to replace so many plants that it's a buying frenzy.

Seasons are rather moveable feasts anyway. In days before universal calendars, months and festivals depended entirely on the weather. Summer came when it got warm enough to take animals that had overwintered in shelters out to far pastures and leave them there. For the rugged Celtic farmer/shepherd, reference to his own superstitions, customs, and native intuition defined the beginning of summer. In more organized social groups, a wizard, witch, or other person of authority consulted his/her signs and charms, and announced the arrival of warm weather. This led to the organized celebration of Bealtainn, the first day of summer, later called May Day.

Next month will come in with May Day. May Day in Michigan, where I lived most of my life, was not summer. It was usually rainy, cold, and dreary. Trees were leafless. When I was a kid, I always wanted to make little paper baskets and fill them with early spring woods flowers, hang them on people's doors, ring the bell and run away, like I had read about in books. Well, there were precious few flowers in the woods, and any paper basket would be blown away or soaked. As to dancing around the May Pole...forget it! Summer comes to Michigan some time in early June. That's when the leaves are freshly out and it is safe to plant new seedlings without fear of frost. On Little Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine, they go with the weather, not the calendar. They have a large picnic and a May Pole dance in June to welcome summer each year.

South of the equator, summer comes in the calendar months of October or November. So forget the calendars. Summer comes to each depending on the vagaries of weather and the geographic location. This year in central Florida summer came in late March...and in Michigan??? Last I heard, it was still snowing up there. Summer comes when it is warm enough to plant and to keep the animals outside. Like the Celtic shepherds, we still pattern much our lives according to the rhythms of nature. Sort of a comforting thought, isn't it?

R

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WEBSITES TO EXPLORE

Need a new reed for your bagpipes? Or maybe you need bagpipes? No? How about books, jewelry and other neat things Scottish? This website comes from Glasgow. It's called the Celtic Shopping Mall and specializes in things Scottish. Go explore it and pretend you really are in Scotland.

http://www.celticshoppingmall.com/

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This is a sort of home-made site with a lot of local flavor. It comes from Ireland, and describes a geologic area call The Burren, which has standing stones and caves and other things that mythology and fantasy are made of. It's an actual area, and the local villages and farms have their say. The site starts out with a picture of a house you can rent in a village called Lalunch. Then it tells about the geology, throws in a picture of a local bed and breakfast, and then some wildflowers and poetry, and a golf course. Explore a nook of Ireland.

http://www.burrenpage.com/

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And, as always, tell your aunts, uncles, cousins and friends about Clovenstone. Give them an adventure!

Good Fate Be Yours —
Ruth

All art work and text © copyrighted by Ruth McIntyre-Williams.